Retrospective Criticism. 281 



company in his astonishing expeditions ; and am enraptured 

 with his unrivalled Ornithology. In it I find no contra- 

 dictions to distract me ; no extravagances to astound me ; no 

 statements to awaken my suspicion. His descriptions are 

 consistent, his observations instructive, his plans heroic, and 

 his exertions unequalled. I admire him in life, and mourn, 

 with unfeigned sorrow, over his untimely end. 



In looking into Audubon's writings, I fully agree in Dr. 

 Jones's opinion [VI. 550.1 of the account of the rattlesnake 

 swallowing a large grey squirrel, tail foremost; I condemn the 

 narrative of the passenger pigeon ; I find Audubon's account 

 of himself at variance with itself, and at variance with the 

 account which his friends give of him ; and I pronounce his 

 Biography of Birds to contain errors which any moderate 

 ornithologist may easily detect. — Charles Waterton, 



The Passenger Pigeon, — " Towards the approach of day, 

 the noise in some measure subsided ; long before objects were 

 distinguishable, the pigeons began to move off in a direction 

 quite different from that in which they had arrived the evening 

 before ; and, at sunrise, all that were able to fly had disap- 

 peared. The bowlings of the wolves now reached our ears, 

 and the foxes, lynxes, cougars, bears, raccoons, opossums 

 and polecats were seen sneaking off." [Biography of Birds, 

 by Audubon, p. 325.) 



" Variarum monstra ferarum ! " Virgil. 



A prodigious variety of wild beasts. 



Mr. Audubon may boast of a sight never before seen by 

 mortal eyes under similar circumstances. Great indeed must 

 have been the yearning for pigeon flesh, to have caused such 

 a variety of wild animals to assemble there ; and irresistible 

 the flavour which induced them to tarry so long beyond their 

 wonted time of prowling. Their very nature seems to have 

 been changed. Their remaining at the pigeon-slaughter till 

 the time of sunrise is a most wonderful circumstance, which 

 demands investigation on the part of naturalists; for, hitherto, 

 all these wild beasts which Mr. Audubon has introduced into 

 his description have only been known as animals of nocturnal 

 movements, and of very skulking and suspecting habits. In 

 general, the flash of a gun, the crackling of a flame, or the 

 shout of a huntsman, will scare any one of them, even when 

 concealed in the lonely retreat; but, on this ever-memor- 

 able occasion, the nerves of the animals, both large and small, 

 were strung up to an astonishing degree of intensity. The 

 day had already dawned unheeded by them ; and it was only 

 at sunrise that they seemed aware of being in dangerous com- 

 pany, and found that it was high time to sneak off" from a 



